Unexpected Relationships
by superlc529
Summary: Lucas discovers he has a connection to his boss that he never expected... and neither did Henry.


A/N: I don't own Forever… I'd have thought that was obvious. And if it isn't, I also don't own my other _Forever_ one-shot entitled 'Stormy Night.' This one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. But I hope you guys will check that one out too if you haven't already. This little idea came to me randomly the other night and kept nagging at me to be written. So here I am writing it. I hope you guys like it and don't think it's too weird.

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><p>Unexpected Relationships<p>

Lucas Wahl waited as patiently as he could at the elevator waiting for his colleague and mentor to arrive for work. Looking down at the object in his hand one more time, he continued to pace back and forth next to the elevators. He thought to himself over and over again, _"Come on, Henry… where are you? Why don't you have a damn cell phone?"_

Not a moment later, the elevator dinged and Doctor Henry Morgan exited it and nearly ran into the younger man.

"It's about time you got here…," Lucas was at his side as they both headed to Henry's office. Henry gave him a side glare and Lucas let out a delayed, "Sir."

"What's the matter, Lucas?" Henry asked as they both entered his office, "There haven't been any pressing cases with Detective Martinez lately."

"I have a… uh… question for you," Lucas hesitated. Henry just gave him a 'go on' look and he did, "Um, I uh don't know how to say it."

"Well then, it's not that pressing, is it?" Henry sat at his desk.

Lucas lifted a finger in the air, still unsure how to breach the subject, "Actually it is… I just don't know how to say it without it getting… weird."

"Out with it, Lucas," Henry knew if he just pressed him hard enough, Lucas would say whatever it was he wanted to say and he could get back to w-

"I saw a picture of you with my great aunt in 1955," Lucas let out in a breath. He handed over the object in question. It was Henry and Abigail's wedding photograph.

"What?" the color practically drained from Henry's face as he took the offered item.

"My great aunt passed away last year," Lucas began explaining himself, "And I got most of her old pictures and stuff. There were a lot of her older, the way I knew her, and then the other night I was just going through some old ones… and I found this one. A wedding picture at an old club and as you can see it says the name of the club on it and 'Dr. and Mrs. Henry Morgan – March 18, 1955.'"

Henry just stared at Lucas.

_How the hell am I going to explain my way out of this one? Maybe I can simply say that it's just a man that looks like me… with the same name? 'Yeah right, Henry' his brain argued._

"Doctor Morgan?" Lucas waved a hand in front of his face and tried again, "_Henry_?"

"Sorry, Lucas," Henry was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to proceed. On one hand his secret was at risk, on the other, stood in front of him was his colleague turning friend who knew of Abigail and what happened to her in her later years. Not only that, but it seemed standing in front of him was also… family.

"I told you I didn't know how to bring it up," Lucas apologized and started rambling, "It's just so weird. I was just flipping through the pictures, admiring her in her early years. You know, she was very pretty. And then the next thing I know I'm staring at my boss right in the face but in 1955. I thought it was one hell of a coincidence, but I don't know it just didn't seem like it was some guy that looked like y-"

Henry put a hand over Lucas' mouth, "Lucas… stop talking."

A muffled okay came from Henry's hand. He dropped it and braced himself. Slowly he put the picture tucked away safely in his desk face down. He needed to know about Abigail and what happened to her after she left him and Abe. He turned back around, "What I'm about to say does _not_ leave this room, understand?"

Lucas emphatically nodded.

"Abigail was my wife," Henry began, "That man you saw in the picture was indeed me."

"How?" Lucas wondered. Such a small word, but it brought with it so much weight.

"Not here," Henry grabbed his scarf, "Come on… we're taking a sick day."

"But…" Lucas started gesturing to the morgue outside of Henry's office and turned around a full three hundred sixty degrees, seeing Henry was already almost at the elevators, "Um… okay."

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><p>Henry and Lucas reached the antique shop in record time. Lucas was a very speedy driver. They went inside and Lucas followed Henry downstairs to his laboratory. Abe was out running errands thinking Henry was at work for the day.<p>

"So…" Henry was all nerves.

"So… you were telling me how you were married to my great aunt," Lucas started and then realization dawned on him and his eyebrows went up, "Which would actually make you my great uncle… whoa."

"Yes and I suppose that makes you family," Henry couldn't believe he was doing this but the need to know about what happened for all those lost years without Abigail outweighed everything else.

Henry took a seat on the couch and Lucas slowly sat down in the chair next to him, still shocked at the unexpected relationship to his boss. Lucas turned to the doctor, ready to listen.

"This is going to sound like something straight out of one of your comics," Henry began.

"Graphic novels, Doc," Lucas corrected him.

Henry couldn't help but smile at Lucas' ability to keep relative normalcy to the conversation, "Yes, graphic novels… This is going to sound like something straight out of one of your graphic novels, but I'm immortal."

"Immortal?" Lucas repeated.

"Yes," Henry nodded. If he was being honest with himself, Lucas was probably one of the few people in the city or even the world that probably wouldn't think him crazy.

"Awesome!" Lucas lit up, "Tell me more."

"_Only Lucas," Henry thought as he let out a short laugh._

"I was born in 1779 and first died by a gunshot to the chest in 1814," Henry began his story, "Something happened that night and I was transformed… now I can't die. Or rather I die, but it won't stick. When I die, I end up in the nearest largest body of water… naked; which for the better part of quite a few decades has been the East River."

"Wait, so that skinny dipping thing a couple weeks back… you had died?" Lucas interrupted him.

"Yes," Henry nodded.

"So, how did you meet Great Aunt Abigail?" Lucas asked.

"How is she your great aunt, Lucas?" Henry wanted to know first.

"Oh, uh, my grandmother was one of her sisters," Lucas answered what Henry already suspected.

Henry nodded and continued, "I met Abigail during World War II. She was a nurse and I a doctor. We bonded over finding a rescued baby from one of the camps."

"And over time you fell in love," Lucas figured. Henry opened his mouth to reply when another figure entered the lab.

"Henry?" Abe was startled to see his father home from work and even more startled to see Lucas sitting in his chair.

Lucas stood up awkwardly, "Uh, hi… uh, I'm Lucas. I work with Henry at the morgue."

"Yeah, we met once," Abe nodded and looked to Henry, "Henry, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Henry sent an apologetic glance at his colleague and went to the other end of the room to hear what his son wanted.

Abe had to ask, "What are you doing home early and with wonder boy?"

"You're not going to believe this, Abraham…," Henry began.

Lucas watched the scene in front of him and though he couldn't hear what they were talking about, he was pretty sure that Henry's roommate knew about his immortality… wait… Henry said that he and Abigail had rescued a baby from WWII.

As Lucas was coming to that conclusion, about to voice his thoughts, Abe let out a huge, "What?!"

Abe joined Henry and Lucas over on the couch, "Continue."

Henry patted his son on the shoulder, "Here's the baby we bonded over… our son Abraham."

"Whoa," Lucas couldn't help but say again. It seemed to be the only word he was capable of saying at the moment.

"We were a family for a little while… until Abigail left," Henry sighed. Abraham put a comforting hand on Henry's back and Lucas gave him a sympathetic smile.

"There was a note," Henry's voice broke, "She said that she just couldn't stay even though she loved us both very much. She thought that watching her grow old would be too hard for me…"

"I'm sorry, Henry," Lucas reached out for his boss' arm.

"I guess she didn't realize that her leaving hurt me more. Hurt _us_ more," Henry swallowed his tears, "We never knew what happened to her."

Henry's pleading eyes looked up to Lucas, "Tell us, Lucas… what happened to her?"

"Well," Lucas began, "I only got to see her probably about half a dozen times in my life. I didn't meet her until I was about ten. My grandmother and her really weren't that close."

"Did she… did she remarry?" Henry had to know.

"No," Lucas shook his head and Henry let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, "No, she never remarried. She lived a pretty quiet life. I only ever saw her when my parents and I went to visit grandma in England for family vacations."

"So, she moved back to England?" Abe wanted to know more as much as his father did.

"Yeah," Lucas replied, "She moved there back in the late 70s… before that she sort of just bounced around here in America. She actually retired fairly early and just sort of traveled around Europe before settling down in England by the time I got to know her."

"Did she ever…?" Henry was hesitant. Lucas nodded for him to continue. After letting out a breath, Henry finished his thought, "Did she ever mention me?"

"Well, I didn't know it was you of course, Doc," Lucas shrugged, "But she mentioned her family back in America, but she said they had died."

"Died?" Abe furrowed his brows.

"Yeah," Lucas replied, "I guess that's what she had to tell herself. She told us that her husband and son had died in a car accident. She used to say that she couldn't take it, so she traveled and moved back home."

"How did she… you said that last year she…," Henry couldn't even finish the question.

"Old age, Doc," Lucas knew what he was trying to ask, "She passed away quietly in her sleep. It was peaceful."

Abe grabbed his father's hand gave it a reassuring squeeze. Henry let the tears fall now, "Was she alone?"

Lucas knew what answer his boss… his _friend_ wanted to hear, but he knew that he needed to know the truth more. He looked down and slowly nodded.

Henry put his head in his hands and finally allowed the long bottled-up tears to fall. Abe started to rub circles on his father's back as his own tears made their way down his face. Lucas reached out and put a supporting hand on Henry's back.

The three men sat like that for what seemed like hours. After a bit, Henry composed himself and stood up. The abrupt movement startled both Abe and Lucas. Henry motioned for Lucas to stand. Slowly, he stood up.

The next thing he knew, Henry Morgan's arms wrapped around him in a tight bear hug. Lucas was stunned and didn't know what else to do but return the hug. Still in the embrace, Henry turned his head and whispered, "Thank you. Thank you, Lucas."

"You're welcome, Doc," Lucas replied as they both came out of the hug.

"Henry," Henry corrected him.

"Huh?" Lucas didn't get what he was trying to say.

"You know you can call me Henry, Lucas," Henry smiled. His eyes were still a little red from crying.

"Great Uncle Henry?" Lucas tried. That achieved Abe letting out a laugh and Lucas receiving a death glare from the man in question.

"Henry it is," Lucas said.

"Come on," Abe got up, "If you two are gonna play hooky from work, you might as well get a nice meal out of it. I just went to the store."

Abe went up the stairs, leaving Henry and Lucas by themselves.

"Come on, Lucas," Henry squeezed the younger man's shoulder, "Let's eat… welcome to the family."

"Thanks, D-… Henry," Lucas smiled and followed the immortal up the stairs.

THE END

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><p>AN: Okay, so this one ended up being a little bit shorter than my other one-shot. And it took on a completely different route than I originally dreamed up, but I like this version better. It flows better. I hope everybody was in-character. Got a little angsty there in the middle toward the end, but I think it turned out all right. Let me know what you guys think. Man, I love this show so much. :)


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